Buchenwald

one of the largest concentration camps on German soil. It was constructed in 1937 in Weimar, Germany. Originally a camp for political prisoners, 10,000 Jews were imprisoned there after Kristallnacht.

At that time the Jews were subjected to extraordinarily hard treatment then released to their families. The object was to get them to emigrate from Germany. With the outbreak of WWII thousands of Poles were housed there in a tent camp. Armament factories were established nearby and the camp's population grew.

In January 1945, as Soviet forces swept through Poland, thousands of concentration camp prisoners were marched in death marches to Buchenwald. On April 11, 1945, the camp was liberated by American forces. Some 21,000 prisoners were liberated including 4,000 Jews, and including 1,000 children. In 1947, 31 members of the camp staff were tried by an American court. Two were sentenced to death and four to life imprisonment.